CVS Pharmacy plans delayed

Building plans for a new CVS Pharmacy at the site of the old Heidenreich Liquor Store have been delayed while details with the Environmental Protection Agency and Kansas Department of Transportation are completed. Staff photo by Brandon Humble

Last year, the Gardner City Council approved rezoning and final plat for a CVS Pharmacy on the northwest corner of Main Street and Center Street; however, building plans have yet to be received.
“Building plans have not been submitted to the city, and therefore a construction time frame has not been established,” according to Daneeka Marshall-Oquendo, Gardner communication manager.
The plat planning commissioners originally recommended approving did not require a right-turn lane from westbound Main Street, but council members made that a stipulation in its approval. The changes would have reduced the Main Street landscaping area and pushed the building back slightly.

A fuel tank that had leaked into surrounding soil was removed from the site last September. File photo

The Kansas Department of Transportation also requested that left turns onto Main Street from the CVS store be prohibited, which would put more traffic onto Shawnee Street.
“CVS is in the process of completing its EPA review and is working with KDOT on aligning the left turn lane used to enter the property,” Marshall-Oquendo said.
Last September, a fuel tank was removed to appease the Environmental Protection Agency. At one time, the site was a gas station, and underground fuel tanks were removed in the 1990s. However, no records indicated the tank which was removed last year. Rusted, the tank leaked its fuel into the surrounding soil. The project will require that the fuel be removed from the soil, likely through burning it. The hole will be refilled. Once completed it was anticipated the sale would be completed and city officials anticipate the pharmacy will be up and running by next fall.
CVS was officially set to exercise its options to purchase the properties by November, 2015.
Though the council’s August vote was unanimous, several Gardner residents objected to the store as it would displace the residents of apartments and homes on 1.5 acres.